[Known] Billy at Blackblade Foothills has name shown - even with hide unlearned NPC names

10/19/2017 4:22 PM
Title: Billy at Blackblade Foothills has name shown - even with hide unlearned NPC names
Reproduction Rate: 100%
Blocker? No
Details:
Billy at Blackblade Foothills has name shown - even though I have "Shown Unlearned NPC Names" set to OFF.

I haven't asked the name of Billy.

Steps to Reproduce:
1) Use an avatar that has never learned Billy's name
2) Turn off "Show Unlearned NPC Names"
3) Go to Billy at the Nomad Oasis at Blackblade Foothills
4) Observe that Billy's name is shown already

User Specs:
OS: Windows 10 (10.0.0) 64bit
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3930K CPU @ 3.20GHz (12) System RAM: 32686
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 GPU RAM: 4058
SotA.EarlyAccess.QA.Win.64.575.Date.10.19.17
Area: Novia_R6_Hills03_01
Area Display Name: Blackblade Foothills
Loc: (-87.2, 28.0, 279.8)
Debug: Tm92aWFfUjZfSGlsbHMwM18wMXx8KC04Ny4xNTksIDI3Ljk5OSwgMjc5Ljc2Nil8KDAsIC0wLjg5MiwgMCwgLTAuNDUxKXwyMTUuODIzM3wyNC41MTA0M3wxLjI1

 

Bug #: 51968, thank you
@Kron Caledon

 

It's because you talked to another child without a specific written conversation and asked his name. They're treated as the same person. Billy gets around, yo. (I mean, look at his dagger, he's not to be trifled with)

 

Ah I see - so all NPCs with the same name will get known, wherever they are.

 

@Lum the Mad

Actually - thinking about this more, this is pretty immersion breaking.

Was this done because of performance reasons? To limit the total # of unique NPCs?

I'd been talking to different NPCs in scenes as I come across them, learning their names one by one where they have them. Even if they looked the same (small boy with a dagger), and the names had been the same ("Billy in Brit Alleys vs. Billy in Blackblade Foothills") - it wouldn't have occurred to me that they're the same person (just like people with the same names could happen in the real world).

But going into a scene and seeing names above people I hadn't actually met in THAT scene was jarring and brought me out of the otherwise wonderful scene - which is why I bugged it.

As I talk to more NPCs, this will happen more and more - and reminding me each time that this is the underlying game mechanism (to have the same people sprinkled in different scenes), rather than that each NPC is their own living, breathing individual.

In some ways - I would have have preferred that they have no name, rather learn one name, and know all the clones everywhere.

I mean - even if they look exactly the same, and have the same name, and have the same dialog - would love to have the illusion that I'm actually talking to this clone for the first time - by learning their name.

Just some feedback! Thanks much.

 

We do it this way because there are plot-centric people who are also in different scenes, and in that case you should know who they are.

At this time we do not have the ability to have unique conversations for each and every minor NPC in the game. The goal is for this to happen but it has not yet been met. (We're at 984 as of this release.)

 

Got it - so the plot-centric people need to be simultaneously be in multiple scenes where players can interact with them (rather than in only one place at one time).

And the side effect is that this also applies to the non plot-centric NPCs.

Eventually - the way to solve this is to "unclone" each and every minor NPC - but that won't happen for a while.

Thanks for clarifying!